Snake Eyes
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Gin wakes up in the Rukongai after being healed by Orihime, and finds that a strange voice is speaking to him in his mind. What it asks of him, he would never want to do, but it seems he can't resist. Drawn like a moth to a flame, he circles back towards the man who was his lover and his executioner. But will fate be enough to save him when Aizen is freed?...Aizen/Gin mpreg
1. Rukongai Souls

**Snake Eyes**

**By Spunky0ne**

**(Dedicated to Sariniste...simply the most enthusiastic Aizenfan I have yet encountered. Hope you all enjoy the story...and the continuation of Gin's birthday month!)**

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_**Always, my eyes watched you...from a distance, from out of the darkness, from the shadows. I slithered closer and watched you smile as I wrapped myself around you. With your eyes locked on mine and both our bodies enchanted and swaying, just who was the snake? And who was the victim?**_

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**Chapter 1: Rukongai Souls**

Gin felt a cool, wet cloth brush over his face and heard soft, feminine voices conversing over him.

"He should regain consciousness soon," said a voice he recognized as the human girl, Orihime, "He'll be all right now."

"Thank you," said Rangiku's voice, "I know that he was one of the ones who was responsible for Aizen holding you hostage..."

"Don't worry about that," Orihime said soothingly, "We know now that he wasn't really with Aizen. But...even if he was, at the end he tried to stop him. And even if not for that, what Aizen did to him was horrible. He didn't deserve to die that way."

_Oh, _Gin groaned inwardly, _but, having failed that way, I did get what I deserved. That man is still alive and he still did not give back what he stole from her..._

"I wish that Central 46 felt the same," Rangiku said softly, "They won't even consider clearing him of charges. If they knew he was alive, they would just have him killed. Unlike that bastard Aizen, Gin can die. And they want to kill someone. It's good for Tousen that he died in the fighting as well."

Gin didn't hear Orihime give an answer, but he knew her well enough that she probably wouldn't wish anyone dead, ever.

_Not even the devil, himself._

He was surprised that thinking of the word 'devil' no longer conjured Aizen's image in his mind. That was certainly the impression that he'd had of the man as he had meticulously prepared his plans against the monarchy, then carried them out in an equally choreographed set of moves.

_And we all danced around him, like pieces on a chess board that he was moving...even me. Yes, he even anticipated my betrayal, though not the exact moment or way in which I would betray him._

There was an odd, dark inward thrill that he encountered, thinking about that.

_But then, as much as I hated him stealing that piece of Rangiku's soul, something very different from hatred began to form while we were in Las Noches. No...even before that._

He suffered a sharp, sudden flash of memory.

_Aizen's hand reached out and curved around his cheek, and Gin felt as though the floor had fallen away beneath him._

_"What was that you said when we met, Gin?" the smooth, deceptively gentle voice said, "You said that you were a snake? Well...it just so happens that I have a very deep fascination with snakes. If you desire it, now that you have come of age, we can begin to explore that fascination."_

_He hadn't a moment to think about what the man was going to do. Like a snake striking, Aizen's mouth was fastened on his and bit down indulgently, sending strange, mingled waves of slight pain and intense throbs of arousal through Gin's reeling body. He didn't feel when he was taken down onto the bed, and only felt the light sting of the other man's fingernails as he was hastily laid bare. Strong, searching hands roamed over his flesh, touching him everywhere, neither asking, nor demanding, but calmly taking what they willed and making him writhe brazenly beneath them._

_"You see," said Aizen's silken voice in his ear, "I have a gift for handling dangerous things, Gin."_

_Gin hadn't planned to ever sleep with the man, but there was no stopping him as he invaded the younger shinigami's slender body, first with insistent fingers, then with his painfully hot and swollen member. He was not rushed, but every moment of his entry into Gin's body was sweet agony...a test of his strength, perhaps. Gin clenched his teeth and panted harshly, but let no cry escape him. And when Aizen's eyes found his, he let a slow smile spread onto his face._

_"I am glad to see that this pleases you," Aizen said, holding himself still as Gin's body shook softly and struggled to adjust, "I was worried that I had misunderstood you."_

_"You understood me perfectly," Gin assured him breathlessly, "You are good with snakes."_

_Words left him again as Aizen's body moved, sending jolts of mixed pain and pleasure, and exciting soft sounds of pleasure from somewhere deep in his chest. There was something that belied the gentle face that still looked down at him, so albeit reckless, he decided to cross a boundary he imagined no one had before._

_"I have shown you my true face," he panted, hanging on to the man's shoulders and opening his eyes a bit wider, "Why don't you show me yours?"_

_Aizen paused, admiring the bright flecks of blue that peeked up at him through Gin's partly opened eyes, and loosing an enigmatic smile._

_"You are more perceptive than most, Gin. Truly, you are the prodigy they said you were...though a trifle more wicked than they imagined, ne?"_

_"Is that a problem for you, Aizen taichou?" Gin asked, flinching as the man reached up and removed his glasses._

_It wasn't, Gin thought, just that his eyes had been uncovered. As though a shade had been drawn back, a more wickedly handsome and crafty looking face laid beneath the surface illusion._

_And that's what this is, Gin thought to himself, It is not reflections to confuse, this is a greater, more dangerous power he has._

_"Is that better?" Aizen asked, drawing a breathy moan from between Gin's parted lips as he began moving again._

_"Hai, Aizen taichou," Gin whispered feverishly, "Much...better!"_

_He went quiet, then, letting his eyes slide shut again and feeling the deep penetration of his body by the other man's. He hadn't considered himself to be a homosexual and still didn't. Indeed, he had partaken of some pleasures with Rangiku from time to time, so he knew that it wasn't that he preferred males in general. But there was something about this man...this man he had gotten close to so that he could kill him. He was like no one Gin had ever encountered, and every moment in his presence was a game with deadly consequences. But it was hard to worry about those possible consequences while being made love to by Aizen Sousuke._

"You're going to be all right now," Rangiku's voice whispered as she washed his face gently again.

_Something feels different about her..._

He tried to open his eyes, but found he was still too weak. Instead, he loosed a tiny flicker of reiatsu, then reeled at what returned to him.

_Her soul...that piece he took from her! _

_It is...returned?_

His mind flashed back to the few moments when he had held the hougyoku tightly in his hand, then opened it to look down at the artifact.

_What was that I heard?_

_Just before he reappeared, it said something to me._

_"It will be as you wish."_

_Then..._

He shivered under Rangiku's hands, earning a sigh and the touch of her hand on his.

"Yes, she healed all of you," Rangiku went on, "Even that."

_Something else has been healed, Rangiku, but by whom? Was it the hougyoku? But Sousuke said that he controlled it. Surely he would not have given me such a gift in the midst of my undoing._

_What happened, then?_

"Gin, I want to thank you."

_For what?_

"I know it sounds strange, but...I understand now, why you left the way you did. You didn't want Kira and me hanging on to the memory of you. You wanted us to move forward. And you will be glad to know I have. I don't know if you realized it, but that day...the day Aizen was captured, something happened to me. It was while I was with you that I felt something inside...something that I hadn't felt in a really long time. And when everything was done and I returned to be checked out at the fourth division, Unohana taichou said that whatever had held me back from achieving bankai for so long had disappeared! I have reached manifestation."

_Ah...!_

"I wouldn't have done that without you, Gin."

_But, I had nothing to do with that. It was either the hougyoku or Sousuke...or both._

"I want you to be the first to see it when I achieve it. So, rest. Get well again. We are safe here in the lower Rukongai. There are few patrols that venture down here, and no one asks questions. Just...stay here and get stronger. I will come to you when I can. The healer will stay with you until you can take care of yourself. Behave for him, okay?"

Gin dropped back into a deep sleep, dreaming more contentedly, now that Aizen was behind bars and his mission to recover the missing piece of his friend's soul was done. Yet, even though his dreams were pleasant, something else broke through that reached down inside him and resonated more strongly.

_Ah, you can hear me again. Listen carefully, then, Ichimaru Gin. I know that you have discovered the action I took the day that Aizen Sousuke took your life. You have wondered, I am aware, whether it was his will or mine that gave back what was taken...but neither answer was correct._

_"What?" Gin whispered softly, his eyes widening as the shining hougyoku appeared before him, "What do you mean?"_

_You know what I mean. It was not my will or Aizen Sousuke's that caused that girl's soul to be restored._

_"Then...?"_

_It was yours._

_"M-mine?" Gin breathed, "How could that be? He said that he still commanded you."_

_Think back, Ichimaru Gin. You suspected some time ago that I was not what that man thought he created. In a sense, I was. I did bring to life others' desires. And he did grow strong enough that I allowed him to fuse with me. But...that fusion did not give him complete reign over me. You must have suspected..._

_"I did wonder when he claimed to be in control. But things still happened that I know he didn't specifically will to happen."_

_Yes. He commanded me in part. But...I could still respond to the souls around me. I could still give them their desires as well. And I also could act on my own._

_"Fascinating..."_

_I had a choice about the desires that I granted...and even as I fell under the seal, I granted one last desire...yours._

_"But...why?"_

_You will discover that in time. But let me give you something to think on. Gin, why do you think that you hear my voice?_

_"Because this is a dream?"_

_No. This is not a dream. And you heard me before, did you not?_

_"I was holding you in my hand."_

_You would have heard me, even if you had not been touching me. Such is the power of the bond between you._

_"The bond...between...me and who?"_

_Aizen Sousuke...your soul bonded._

_"My...what?"_

_He is your soul bonded. This was made so when your souls were created. That is why your paths eventually crossed and you became lovers._

_"I never loved Aizen Sousuke," Gin objected, knowing even as he said the words, that they were a lie._

_You are lying. You loved him, and you became conflicted in what you intended...so conflicted that even had I not protected Aizen from your blade's poison, it would not have killed him._

_"But it...?"_

_He would have overcome it, in the end. You struck with less than proper intent. And you know why._

_"I do not love Aizen Sousuke," Gin said again._

_It does not matter that you feel this way. What you feel for him is even deeper, and it will bring you back to him._

_"Why are you telling me this?"_

_I am putting you on the path. This is the will of my true master, Ichimaru Gin._

_"Who is your...?"_

_That does not matter. What matters is that you do what I say. Wait until night has fallen. Then, return to where Aizen was captured. In the ruins of the battlefield, you will find the shattered sword he wielded. Go and find Kyouka Suigetsu...then quickly return here and heal him._

_Gin let out a soft, disbelieving breath._

_"I do not want to have anything to do with any part of him."_

_That is a lie._

Gin woke suddenly.

He found himself alone, except for the sleeping healer, who occupied a bed on the other side of the room. His body still ached, but he found that he was able to move, even to sit up. He sipped briefly at a cup of water that had been left at his bedside, then rose onto shaky legs and walked to the window. Looking out, his eyes came to rest on a lovely, full moon. And it made him feel good to know that Aizen Sousuke could not look out and see the moon from the depths of Muken, where Rangiku had said he was taken.

But even as his mind took on the thought, he felt a restlessness inside.

_Go and find Kyouka Suigetsu...then quickly return here and heal him._

"Why would I even consider doing such a thing?" he whispered to himself.

He tried to think of other things, but the hougyoku's voice refused to leave his mind. He left the small house, walking out into the night and acquainting himself with the area he was in. It wasn't far, he realized suddenly, from the place where the battle had been waged. And before he registered what he was doing, he began to walk slowly in that direction.

_I heard her say that it disintegrated, _he told himself, _There isn't anything left. And if there was, why would I even consider healing him? He was a part of Aizen's plan._

But there was something about that thought that suggested it was a lie...or at least a misunderstanding.

_After all, if Kyouka Suigetsu was, indeed, abandoned, then how much of a part of Sousuke's plans could he have been? And how interested would he be in being healed now? Wouldn't it be better to let that tortured soul die?_

He remembered, then the way it felt to have that sword's power wrap around him. He had always rather enjoyed the way it felt...as though it brought him that much closer to Sousuke.

_But, why would I still feel a desire for that now? Everything broke apart then, when I betrayed him._

But that seemed a lie too.

Gin moved forward, noting the scorch marks on the ground as he reached the place in question. He reached out with his senses and was shocked at how quickly the fragments of Kyouka Suigetsu responded. As though not of his own accord, Gin moved quickly to the place and knelt, retrieving the small pieces of the sword that he could find, then abandoning the sight and fleeing back to his new home.

The healer, he found, was still sleeping. So Gin sat down on the bed and contemplated the pieces of Aizen's blade, before wrapping them carefully in some of the extra bandages and slipping them underneath his mattress. He laid back down and was surprised to find that sleep came more easily this time.

And when he woke in the morning, he found that his body seemed to have been completely restored.

The healer examined him thoroughly, his aged face evincing disbelief. But finally, he nodded in approval and left, giving the silver-haired man an admonishment to rest. Gin returned to his bed and started to reach under the mattress, then frowned as his hand found something hard. He pulled gently and found himself looking at...

_Aizen Sousuke's fully healed sword._


	2. The Secret Inside

**Chapter 2: The Secret Inside**

**(Thanks so much to PhreshxxxBear (I am so glad! I hope you enjoy this next bit! :) I don't know if Gin will, but we will, of course!), Kii-chan (You've got it! More Aizen/Gin is on the way!), Leena (It wook me a while to grab on to the chemistry between these two, but now that I have a taste of it, I really like how it works!), MissLilly2012 (I'm so glad you are enjoying it! And here's more to love!), Sakurayuri89 (And heeeeere's more!), and Sariniste (Even though Gin's birthday month is over, I kind of owe everyone for not doing more to honor him. Still, I have plenty more to offer, and here's the beginning!) Enjoy all! Spunky out!)**

Gin stared in surprise at Aizen's restored zanpakutou, shivering inside as he remembered it penetrating his body as the hougyoku possessed Aizen sought to kill him. He dropped the weapon and stepped back, watching it fall to the floor, then gazing down at it darkly.

_How did this happen? _he wondered inwardly, _It was in pieces when I laid down to sleep. No one was here but me, and even if I didn't have concerns about bringing it back, I don't wield the power right now to restore it!_

_What happened?_

A chill shot through him as a low, eerily calm male voice sounded in his mind.

_Gin._

The silver-haired shinigami's eyes widened and he took another step back from the fallen sword.

_I understand your feelings. I was used to kill you. If not for Inoue Orihime's power, you would have met the end that my master chose for you. But, I am glad that you did not._

Gin continued to stare at Kyouka Suigetsu, spellbound by the zanpakutou's return and even more stunned it was speaking to him.

_Don't you wonder why that is so?_

"Maybe," Gin answered finally, "But I couldn't believe your explanation if you gave me one."

_Certainly not right now, _the sword's spirit acknowledged, _but you will come to understand soon. What you need to know is that I chose that if I should survive, I would find my way to you._

"Hmmm, well as curious as that makes me, I am not about to trust you."

_You don't have to trust me. But I hope you will listen. Will you at least consider what I have to say? If you hear it and choose not to believe me, then you are welcome to walk away._

Gin stepped back in the direction of the sword, then paused for a moment, before taking it by the hilt and lifting it. He wondered at the ache of longing that welled up inside, being close to any part of Aizen again.

_The man tried to kill me._

_Why, then?_

_Why do I still...?_

He quivered inside at the warm, gentle brushing of Kyouka Suigetsu's mind against his. He had to admit to himself that he had loved the feel of the powerful spirit's presence being so close to him when he shared Aizen's company.

_You remember now, don't you? _the spirit asked suddenly, making Gin freeze and close his eyes, _Yes, at the moment I penetrated your body, Gin, you felt that I did not want to kill you. And what's more, you sensed that the hougyoku too, did not want you to die. My master struck at you to make you pay for your betrayal. But what neither of you realized was that your fates had been manipulated. You were set up to be killed by him._

"What? What are you telling me?" Gin whispered, sitting down on the bed.

_I need to bring you to my master's inner world. Only there will it be safe to speak openly with you._

"Oh, I don't think so," Gin said, shaking his head and trying to let go of the sword.

He gasped in surprise as the scene around him suddenly flickered, and he felt himself drawn away from the small cottage in the Rukongai.

_Gin found himself sitting at the top of a small rise, under a large oak tree, and looking down into a lovely blue pond. On the pond's softly rippling surface, he saw, not his own reflection, but the reflection of a tall, slender, aristocratic looking young man with deep, lively green eyes, black hair and a sad, weary look about his handsome face. He gazed up at Gin quietly, waiting for some kind of response._

_"Well," Gin said, gathering himself, "You went to the trouble of bringing me here. But why? I have never heard of anyone..."_

_"Yes," the spirit said softly, "You have."_

_Gin remembered, then, his dream of the hougyoku speaking to him, telling him that his soul had been bound to Aizen's when their souls were made._

_"You are going to tell me that I am soul bonded to him? Like the hougyoku said in my dream?"_

_"That was not a dream, Gin," Kyouka Suigetsu told him, "You are my master's soul bonded. That is why I can bring you here."_

_He paused and looked up into the cloudy sky._

_"It is also why you were set up to be killed."_

_"What?" Gin asked, blinking in surprise, "I don't understand. You mean your master set me up because he figured out I would betray him, ne?"_

_"No," the spirit said, "Aizen Sousuke was not the one who set you up. He was also set up to die. Only the hougyoku prevents him from dying."_

_"And why do you think I would ever want to help that man?" Gin asked, turning away, "He stole a piece of my friend's soul! He hurt her and I only got close to him to..."_

_"That is a lie," Kyouka Suigetsu said firmly, "Although you did, indeed, use that as your reason for getting close to him, and you did plot against him and even tried to kill him, your interactions with him affected you and made your resolve weaken. And in the end, you did not really want him to die."_

_"But...!"_

_"Gin, wasn't your greatest concern always getting that piece of Rangiku's soul back?"_

_"Yes," Gin admitted, "But it was also exacting revenge for him taking it. And when the time came, I struck to kill."_

_"Yes, but your heart was not behind it," Kyouka Suigetsu insisted, "Look inside yourself. See the truth that would not have happened if you were not soul bonded to my master!"_

_Gin stared in surprise as the surface of the water rippled and an image of Gin appeared on the surface._

_"What is this?" Gin whispered, staring at the image and watching raptly as 'Gin' in the image rubbed his somewhat rounded belly and smiled, "Why are you doing this? Let me out of here at once!"_

The scene around Gin broke apart and he found himself sitting on his bed with Kyouka Suigetsu lying on the bed in front of him. He looked down at his belly and felt an odd sense of relief that it looked normal.

_I don't want to think about what would happen if...if I could be..._

_I can't be, ne?_

_I know for a fact I am male and I have never heard of a male impregnating another male._

A thought occurred to him and Gin stiffened, staring at Kyouka Suigetsu and not daring to ask the question. But he was already remembering the last night with Aizen, and thinking back, it would have made chilling, but perfect sense.

_He opened the door to Aizen's bedroom and found it empty. But the door to the balcony was open, so he moved forward and stepped outside._

_Aizen stood on the balcony, leaned against the railing and gazing quietly up at the crescent moon. He lifted one hand and brought a glass of red wine to his lips, sipping, then lowering it again._

_"Sousuke," Gin said softly, not wanting to disturb the man, but feeling a particular longing for connection._

_He knew that the next day would be the last. It would be the end of everything. But even though that time was coming, he wished that things could be simpler between them. He wondered suddenly if Aizen could be feeling the same._

_But he couldn't know._

_He couldn't have guessed or Gin was sure that Aizen would have killed him._

_But Aizen didn't have the dangerous gleam in his eye that usually warned of coming violence. Instead, he looked unusually weary, even pensive. Gin was instantly curious._

_"Gin," Aizen said invitingly, coaxing the silver-haired man into the warm space between the railing and his body._

_Aizen set his wine glass on the railing and wrapped his arms around the younger man, holding him more tightly than usual, and exploring his white throat more tenderly. He fed Gin the last mouthful of the wine, then sank into his mouth over Gin's shoulder, lingering and sucking lazily at his tongue, then returning to his throat again. And as he treasured the pale flesh, his hands slid down and pulled free the tie at the younger man's waist. One hand reached around him, coming to rest on his lower abdomen, while the other sought his privates and began to manipulate them gently._

_"I am beginning to be glad that you talked me into having day and night cycle around the fortress, rather than making it always daytime here," Aizen commented, "Although darkness can staunch happiness, sometimes I think we want darkness to hide the things we don't want to see. Do you know what I mean, Gin?"_

_"Ah, I think I do," Gin answered, moving his hips slightly as Aizen's hand continued to pleasure him, "Aizen Sousuke wishes that things could be more simple, ne? But could that be true? Somehow, I don't think that a wife and children would be enough to hold your interest."_

_"Maybe not," Aizen agreed, "But you understand the desire, don't you?"_

_"I believe we all have the desire for the simple things sometimes," Gin concluded, "But we are not simple people."_

_He caught his breath softly as he realized that Aizen's warm hand was caressing his belly gently as he brought the silver-haired man to a deeper state of arousal._

_"No," Aizen breathed in his ear, sending the scent of the wine back across his senses and making him feel light-headed, "We are not simple people. Still, we do seek simplicity, even now. For example, have you given thought to what we will do when I become king?"_

_"You know I am not so sentimental, nor do I trust in the future."_

_"I know you don't usually," Aizen said, pressing up against his backside and letting Gin feel his hot, thickened arousal, "But, why don't you indulge me and think about it now? If you could have anything you want after I'm king, what would it be?"_

_Gin would have thought that the first thing to enter his head would be that Rangiku's soul would be healed. But the vision that passed before his eyes was stunning. And while he was reeling with the force of it, Aizen suddenly abandoned his gentleness and pressed harder, up against Gin's slender back, tugging his yukata out of the way and entering him from behind._

_Gin gave a breathy, surprised cry at the sudden invasion, then was nearly swept off his feet by the way the other man's thrusts became so hard and eager, but the hands that caressed his belly and stroked his privates remained gentler and more affectionate...almost hopeful. Gin blushed at how quickly the blending of tenderness and power undid him. He pressed back into Aizen's muscular chest, closing his eyes and moaning wantonly. And as the strong, beautiful shudders of orgasm swept through him, Aizen's voice sounded in his ear, making everything around the two disappear._

_"What no one understands is that I am seeking simplicity too. There is something I want very much that you will give me when I am king. That, I will promise you, Gin. Only stay with me..."_

Gin bit at his lips, forcing away the memory.

_It was all a lie. He didn't want me. He knew I was deceiving him and he wanted to make it harder for me to do it!_

But every time that interaction replayed in his mind, he was stricken again with how Aizen's words had seemed so much like a confession of love.

_But he didn't love me and I didn't love him._

_And what we were dreaming about in that moment doesn't matter. We betrayed each other. And now, he is in that dark, hateful place and I have to remain in hiding or I will be killed for defecting with him. It is over. Those dreams are over._

He swallowed hard and glanced at Kyouka Suigetsu, where the sheathed blade still rested on the bed. Letting out a short, annoyed breath, he picked up the sword and started to shove it beneath his mattress again. But, as he touched it, Kyouka Suigetsu's voice whispered into his mind again. And the words sent a jolt through him.

_He used the hougyoku that night, Gin. And because it was in both of your hearts, it happened as you willed it!_

Gin buried the sword beneath the mattress and tried to lie down again to make the thought go away.

_It can't be. I can't be pregnant! It's just not possible._

_Though...neither was destroying the barrier between shinigami and hollow..._

_But it can't have happened! Aizen Sousuke never loved me. He knew I would betray him and he planned for that. Why would he plan for me to betray him, but make a child with me when he was just going to kill me?_

He nearly cried out in agony as Kyouka Suigetsu's voice touched his mind again.

_It is true that Aizen Sousuke knew you were planning to betray him. But he was weak with emotion that night and let his guard down with you. You and he both dreamed of the same thing that night. And when you made love, you made a child together. But your betrayal stung him, and he decided that your mutual dream was just that...a dream. And it was a dream he chose, then, to end with his blade. He put me into your heart, Gin, because you broke what was left of his._

For some reason he couldn't fathom, the words seemed unbearable.

Gin flew from the bed and fled out into the dirty streets, running to the end of town before calming enough to slow to a walk. He found a gently gurgling brook and followed the path alongside it, trying to focus on the trees or the sounds of the birds...anything to keep him from thinking about Kyouka Suigetsu's words.

_Because it can't be true._

_He and I could not have wished for that._

_It couldn't have happened._

_I could not be carrying his child._

_No..._

He came to a place where the water had pooled and become more calm. Gazing down at his reflection, he slipped a hand beneath his yukata and rested it lightly on his abdomen.

_There would be some kind of sign if that was true...a reiatsu signal...something!_

A chill ran down his spine as he sent a soft pulse of his own reiatsu into the area and felt a soft, sweet flutter in return.

_Oh my kami, no!_

There wasn't anywhere he could run, then, he knew. Because, if it was true, then it explained why Kyouka Suigetsu and the hougyoku could talk to him. It explained how Aizen was feeling that last night, and what his true emotions about Gin were. And it explained why, even now, with things being hopelessly bad, there was new hope for him.

_Yes,_ whispered Kyouka Suigetsu's voice in his mind as the sword's spirit appeared on the surface of the pooled water in front of him, _You see, Gin. You know the truth of things. And now that you do, you must be careful._

"Why do I need to be careful?" Gin sighed, "Sousuke is in Muken. Or do you mean that I have to be careful not to be captured, myself? I already knew that."

_That is not what I mean, _Kyouka Suigetsu went on, _You have another enemy, a very powerful one. And if he realizes that you and the child have survived, then he will undoubtedly kill you._

"But why hasn't he sensed me already?" Gin asked, frowning.

_Your reiatsu diminished when you died. And when Orihime brought you back, it remained low for a time. But it was beginning to be restored when you found me...and I acted to conceal it._

"You...?"

_If you do not make it obvious, then I can keep you hidden. Your enemy thinks that you are dead and no longer a threat. He thinks that Aizen Sousuke is unable to break free of Muken, so he feels safe. But...because your ally gave Aizen the ability to create the hougyoku, you and he are more of a threat than he knows._

"He who?" asked Gin.

_Who do you think? _asked the spirit, _Your enemy is the soul king._

"Hmmm, I should have figured," muttered Gin, "And who is our ally? The devil himself?"

He didn't particularly like the smile that Kyouka Suigetsu gave him.

_Our benefactor is..._

Gin's eyes widened and his face blanched as the spirit went on. He barely registered anything more, but stared blankly into the water, not believing what he had heard.

_Now, _Kyouka Suigetsu said, earning a deeper frown from Gin, _The time has come._

"Dare I ask, for what?" Gin mused.

_We must help him to escape._


End file.
